


Nearly Costly Mistakes

by LibertyKingdom



Category: Miami Vice (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 13:43:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibertyKingdom/pseuds/LibertyKingdom
Summary: When Tubbs is promised revenge on Orlando Calderone and the assurance that her infant son will be returned to her, she decides to make a very risky decision. Will that choice end up resulting in her death?





	Nearly Costly Mistakes

The exoskeleton of the formerly industrious warehouse rose ominously against the otherwise serene and quiet backdrop of long vacated lots. The cool Miami breeze had an eerie way of whistling past the cracked windows, practically forewarning of the danger that was to befall her.

A twinge of regret echoes in the heavy thuds of her heartbeat. She should have told Crockett where she was headed and why. Yet, deep down, she knows he wouldn’t have approved. He’d have good reason to be wary and pessimistic. A third party informant, refusing to identify themselves, was offering her revenge on Orlando Calderone and the return of her son who was rumored to have survived the explosion.

Step by step she draws closer to the figure concealed in the shadows of the warehouse. Ricki’s gut instinct screams, ‘turn back now.’ The situation seems innocent enough. What could go wrong with a one on one exchange? She’d hand over the money, he’d gift her the desired information and quite possibly her son. At least that was the endgame. The hairs on the back of her neck bristle, her subconscious continually nagging her: something just isn’t right.

Tubbs’s eyes anxiously scan the surroundings as if, searching for the cause of her apprehensiveness. “Here I am.” She announces. Her words radiating the tension flowing like electricity through her veins. “You’ve got the information, man?” To emphasize her words, she taps the briefcase full of cash at her side.

The man’s eyes grow light, almost merry with amusement. A menacing smirk appears upon the man’s face. “Well, Tubbs, I didn’t think you’d show.” He shoves his back of the wall it had been resting against to circle her. He laughs.

“You going to sing or not?” Tubbs demands.

His purely unsettling grin widens significantly. His hands gesture towards something behind her. 

Ricki’s gaze hesitantly follows. It was a potentially costly mistake. There, to her surprise were several guards, all heavily armed.“This was a damn set-up!” She lets out a savage growl. “Wasn’t it?! A pretense to draw me out! My son is dead! Isn’t he?! Her hope is crushed. It crumbles like a wall built of stale bread that is trampled under foot, right before her very eyes. “Isn’t he?!” Tubbs repeats. This time her words are more forceful as if, she needs him to feel the heavy burden of the accusation. 

Before she could so much as react, her arms are clasped tightly by two of the enforcers. They promptly removed her gun. Tubbs struggles with all of her might to scuffle her way out. But it doesn’t work. Not by a long shot. They are far stronger than she could ever hope to be. “You’ve got the money. Let me go. I’ll chalk this up to a misunderstanding.” She attempts to negotiate. Her nostrils flaring with unresolved anger.

The assumed head of the sleazy crew speaks again. “We can’t do that. We’re supposed to hold you till he arrives.”

“He?” Ricki queries. The color drains from her face. Her heart sinks with the sudden realization of how dramatically she had miscalculated the situation. He- as in one bearing the name Calderone. “No… no … no… no…” She grumbles, attempting to put up as big of a fight as possible. 

“Stop struggling.” To his distaste, she doesn’t cease and desists. In fact, her fight intensifies. As a direct result of her resistance, a cloth soaked in chloroform is shoved over her mouth and nose. Tubbs strains, trying to force herself not to breathe in the sweet scent. However, it is virtually impossible. The world grows quiet. Her arms and legs grow limp and useless.

*****

Sometime later, the undercover cop returned to consciousness. Her arms, bound behind a pillar. She squints against the harsh light, cursing the mild throbbing headache residing in her temples. 

Tubbs is well aware that she has two options: fight and die or wait till the brutes’ unnamed but heavily implied enigma shows up and probably puts a bullet shattering through her skull. Both, as she perceives, would result in her premature death. In spite of this, she has to attempt to herself out of here. She definitely doesn’t want to come face to face with any crime boss while she is unarmed and heavily outnumbered.

Ricki had been using the sharp edges of the rusted pillar to chisel at the ropes keeping her restrained. All the whilst she worked, she was calculating the perfect moment to spring into the action. She has to catch the enforcers off guard. Doing so greatly enhances her chances of staying alive.

Finally, after countless hours, her perseverance caused the ropes to give way. She stretches out her legs, as she was prone to do, in order to keep the blood flowing. Her hips tilt up off the cold concrete, ever so gradually and it is followed with a burst of movement as she bolts past the detail.Her steps are clumsy, almost uncertain as sensation returns. Tubbs races into an elongated corridor and makes for the door. Upon realizing the doors were guarded, she swivels and is forced to turn down a darker hallway. One she presumes once held offices. Taking initiative, she enters one of the vacated rooms in hopes to find an errant window, a hole in the wall, anything. Desperation was seizing hold of her as the enforcers closed in on her. 

Upon entrance, there is an overwhelming sense of dismay that overtakes her. There isn’t a window, nor a hole in the wall through which, she may escape. Just as she determines her chances would be better if she evacuated and took refuge in another room, she finds herself trapped like prey cornered by a predator.

A fierce battle ensues.

***** 

Tubbs’s long dark lashes flicker open in spite of the searing pain taking over every muscle and tendon in her body. She knows not how long she had been unconscious but it had felt like an eternity. Half of her face remains planted against the unforgivingly cold cement that was scattered with shattered remains of a mug. 

The loud roar of metallic bullet casings raining down like a heavy storm had long ago plunged into an eerie hush. Although, the tinnitus still nipped at her raw eardrums. Any clarity of thoughts happens to be concealed in a dense fog, just like the ones that overtake New York City streets on crisp summer evenings.

Ricki strains, attempting to get up but a heavy warmth accompanied by pain inside of her blouse presents itself. Curious fingers engage the source only to be withdrawn coated with inky scarlet. “Damn.” She’d been hit. It wasn’t entirely surprising given the number of bullets that had been unleashed in the room. Her legs felt about as useless to her as sacks filled with sand. So getting up of her own volition and summoning help wasn’t even a remote possibility.

Her gaze half-attentively sweeps around the room. To her left, there were more than a dozen bullet-casings and a lonesome iron bar. To her right, lay at least a dozen more bullet casing and the man she had been wrestling the gun from. He wasn’t moving thanks to a well placed shot to the head that had occurred when Tubbs had been able to briefly turn the gun in her favor. However, the gun now rests uselessly empty or jammed at her side.

Surely there will be unpleasant ramifications if and when the enforcer’s reinforcements arrive. After all, she was being held until the young brat of Calderone could come. Concerning herself solely with this thought, Tubbs struggles to turn herself onto her side so that she could have better access to the gaping wound in her abdomen. Excruciating pain bristles throughout every nerve ending as her hand connects with the already soaked fabric of her shirt. For a moment, she allows her eyes to screw shut.

The hurried shuffle of footsteps reaches her ears and a sense of dreaded alarm ripples throughout her slender figure. ‘Calderone! Or the Other enforcers! They were coming for proof of her death… or assurance.’ Her groggy mind screams. ’Play dead and you just might survive this.’ Tubbs internally instructs herself. With great effort, she purposefully slows her breathing. Her heart thundering one dull thump after the other. Through the narrowed slits of her dark hues, she can just barely make out a shadow looming over her.

The scent of cigarettes and cheap cologne greets her nose. “Sonny?” His name nearly dying upon her dried and cracked lips as she bravely turns her head towards him. His presence seemed far too good to be true. Tears come like a torrent, sweeping away the dirt and mire caked upon the contours of her face.

Willingly, she allows Crockett to lift her from the cold cement stained with her blood. She curls into the warmth his proximity provided as if, it could prevent her from death. Her head lulls tiredly against his shoulder. Her feeble fingers to seek purchase in the farthest lapel of his blazer. “Too….took… you l…long enough to get to the party. Wh….what happened? You suddenly de….decide to stop for… every red light, partner?” She half teasingly pokes. Tubbs knows that by not informing him as to where she was going had heavily hampered the search.

Then more softly, though more somberly she murmurs, “he’s coming… back to M…Miami. If he isn’t already here.” Each syllable is etched with well-deserved apprehension.


End file.
